Families Are Benefitting from Post 9/11 GI Bill

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a program sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD). Signed into law in 2008, the purpose of the bill is to enable active duty military personnel and veterans achieve higher education levels. The bill can have widespread benefits for families, with the potential to improve socioeconomic status and quality of life.

Eligibility for and Benefits of the Program

Service members with at least 90 days of active service can be eligible for benefits related to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The amount of the benefit increases with length of time in the service, with benefits reaching 100 percent at 36 months in the service. Eligibility lasts for 15 years after an individual’s last period of active duty. Benefits include the following.

Tuition and fee payment to the school.

A monthly housing allowance (MHA).

A stipend for books and supplies.

Increased Earnings Potential with Increased Education

Veterans need to provide for their families, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on a clear link between education levels and income. By going to school with the aid of the provisions of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, veterans or the people they transfer their benefits to increase their earnings potential. High school graduates had a median weekly income of $651 in 2013, while those with a bachelor’s degree had a $1,108 median weekly income.

It is not only those with four-year degrees and post-graduate education that can benefit from their education. Median income also increases and chance of unemployment decreases with an associate’s degree and some post-high school training with no degree. Someone with some college education but no degree had a 7 unemployment rate and $727 median weekly earnings in 2013.

Education Provides a Better Chance of Employment

Gulf War-era II veterans, or veterans who served after 2001, had a 9 percent unemployment rate in 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is nearly 50 percent higher than the national average of 6.1 percent unemployment in 2013. Another benefit of the Post-9/11 GI Bill can be a lower chance of education, since higher education levels are linked to reduced unemployment rates. In 2013, while high school graduates had a national unemployment rate of 7.5 percent, those with an associate’s degree had an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, and only 4 percent of individuals with a bachelor’s degree were unemployed.

CCI Training Center offers training programs in the following areas.

Medical and health care, such as insurance, medical assistant, and phlebotomy programs.

Business accounting.

Computer and network administration training.

Transferring the Benefits to Aid the Family

The Post-9/11 GI Bill has provisions to enable family members to receive the benefits. Those military service members who prefer to continue to serve while allowing their family to go to school may do so. Eligible members of the armed forces may transfer their benefits to their children or spouse.

A Supportive Institution Can Help Veterans and Their Families Maximize the Benefits

While eligible individuals can choose to apply their benefits to any of the qualifying higher education institutions and trade and training schools, some may find a better experience when they go to schools that are particularly friendly to veterans. They may feel more comfortable among their peers when the school has a high proportion of qualifying students, and the school can offer military service-member-specific counseling and career advising.

CCI Training Center, for example, has full-time counselors and advisors on staff. Of its students, 8 percent are veterans or on active duty, and the school offers scholarships to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill can help military families improve their quality of life. Active duty individuals, veterans, and their families can continue their education and have more opportunities as a result of this bill.